Complications
by the-Mad-Majesty-of-Muchness
Summary: Six years ago, Fiyero Tigelaar broke Glinda's heart. She hasn't seen him since. So how is she supposed to cope when her best friend Elphaba finally finds a man who looks past her skin at who she is as a person, and that man's name happens to be Fiyero?
1. Chapter 1: Of Boys, Memories, and Eyes

**AN: Here it is, finally! Oh my gosh, I am SO excited about this one, you guys! I've got some great plans for it, I'm already sort of skipping ahead and writing future chapters that I haven't even pogressed to yet. I've already got almost the entire thing planned out in my head, I just have to figure out how exactly I want it to end, because I haven't gotten that quite worked out yet. **

**Anyway, the little preview that I posted, where Glinda starts choking on her drink? (you may not have read it, and it's fine if you haven't, but you may be a bit confused here) Here's the thing about that: It won't be coming for quite a while, because it doesn't happen until Elphaba and Fiyero are about seven months into their relationship with each other. (not really the romantic part, just their relationship in general. you know, like seven months after they meet)**

**Oh, and one more thing: Since this is AU, and therefore I have complete and total control over what happens as the All-Powerful, All-Seeing, All-Knowing Authoress, I have decided that Fiyero will no be prince. WAIT. Before you freak out, ladies, let me explain: I do not mean to say that he was not born into a royal family. He was. What I have done here is had him renounce his crown and title, thus putting his younger sister next in line for the throne. **

**He did this, however, only after speaking with his parents about the matter and explaining his reasons for choosing to do so. Since I, unlike some other people, choose to write his parents as very kind and understanding people (I take a bit of inspiration from Kasmira & Ibrahim, his parents in PheonixGirl23's stories because I just love them to death, they are the absolute best Fiyero parents I've ever read!), they saw his reasons (which will be explained in a later chapter when it comes up in conversation between him and Elphie) as being perfectly legit, so they basically said, "Alright fine. Just promise you'll visit every now and then. Let us know if you need anything, and good luck."**

**He then proceeded to leave the Vinkus, found himself an apartment in the EC, and...Well, the rest, as they say, is history. ****JK, JK. The rest is what's in here, haha! Oh, and if you're wondering, he actually has 2 sisters. A younger one (the one who will be taking the throne eventually. actually, it's Niobe, who made a brief appearance in the last chapter of my parody, so you'll get to learn some more about her later on) and the other is a twin who's a day older than him. How is that possible, you ask? Trust me, everything gets revealed at some point or another in the story. I will tell you, though, that it's Sarima and I decided to make her go all bad-girl-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks-esque. She's the black sheep of the family. Fiyero hates her freaking guts. Seriously, he cannot STAND the girl. Every time she comes up in conversation, he just says, "She's a freaking slut. Conversation over." Or something to that extent, anyway.**

**So, anyhow, I'll shut my mouth and let you read. I'm really quite proud of this one, I think it's one of the best I've got, definitely on my list of personal records! Hope you love reading it as much as I love writing it!**

**-Maggie the Mad Majesty of Muchness**

**PS: Big shout out to Bree for being the world's bestest beta EVAH!**

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><p>Elphaba Thropp was over the moon when she walked into the small apartment she shared with her best friend in the Emerald City. Glinda raised an eyebrow at her unusually happy roomie. "What's got you so up there?" the blonde asked.<p>

"You'll never believe this, Glin. I met the most amazing guy today, and the best part was that he never even mentioned my skin. He acted like there was nothing strange at all."

"What's his name?"  
>"Fiyero."<p>

Glinda froze. "Fiyero?" she echoed. Elphaba nodded. "Fiyero as in Tiigelaar?"

Elphaba smiled. "How'd you know?" she asked.

_FLASHBACK, SIX YEARS AGO_

_"How could you, Fiyero?"_ _the blonde screeched, crying hysterically. "I thought you loved me!"_

_"I did, Glinda, and I still do! I just don't love you the way I used to, can't you understand that?"_

_"I hate you more than anything in the whole world and I never want to see your damn face again in my entire freaking life! I hope somebody shoves you into the Poison Lake and you die!"_

_"Glinda, put. The hand-mirror. Down. No, Glinda, don't-!"_

_*CRASH!*_

_END FLASHBACK_

"Oh, um...I-I may have met him once or twice..." Glinda said. "And perhaps even, uh...thrown a thing or two at his head?" Elphaba laughed. "What in the world could he have possibly done to incur such wrath from you, Glin?" she asked half-jokingly.

"Oh, well, you know...Dumb guy...stuff..." Glinda looked at the ceiling, the cushions on the chairs, the coffee table, the kitchenette. Anywhere but the place Elphaba was sitting, at anything but her friend, trying to avoid meeting the green girl's eyes.

Elphaba studied her. "You're acting strange," she said finally. Glinda forced herself to look at the taller woman. "Who, me?" she said, forcing a laugh. "No I'm not, silly girl. What's strange about the way I'm acting?"

"You're hiding something, aren't you, Glinda?"

"What? No! No, of course not, Elphie! Why would I hide anything from you, you're my best friend! We tell each other everything. No secrets, right? That's what we agreed on when we decided to share this apartment, we would never keep any secrets from each other. Trust me, I'm not hiding anything."

"Then why wouldn't you look me in the eye when I asked about how you and Fiyero know each other?"

For the second time since Elphaba had entered the apartment, Glinda froze. Elphaba raised a slender ebony eyebrow, knowing she had caught the blonde. Taking a few deep, shaky breaths, the latter said, "Listen, Elphie. Fiyero and I...We don't exactly have the best history with each other. I haven't seen him in six years, and I am perfectly happy with that. In fact, the last time I saw him, we agreed it would probably be best if we didn't see each other again. As in, you know, like...ever."

She paused, trying to find a way of putting her thoughts into words. "I've put everything that happened with him behind me. It's all water under the bridge now, and I would prefer to keep it that way. So, if it's all the same to you, I'd really rather we didn't talk about him. The memories are very difficult for me to handle, and that is all I have to say on this particular subject."

Half of what she'd just said were complete and total lies, and she was telling them through her teeth, praying to whatever higher force controlled the universe that her friend wouldn't be able to tell. But, of course, this was Elphaba, the queen of perceptive observation if there ever was one.

Elphaba watched her face closely. "You're hiding something," she repeated, standing up and heading for her bedroom. Glinda twisted around to watch her. The green girl paused in the entrance to the small hallway that led to the girls' rooms and the bathroom, looking at the blonde over her shoulder, smiling.

"And I'm going to find out what."

Glinda's eyes widened as Elphaba made her way down the hall. "Wait! Elphie-" She heard Elphaba's door close before she could finish her sentence.

Glinda squeaked.

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><p><strong>AN: Soooo? Whattaya think? Like it, don't, love it, hate it? Thoughts and CC, please! (OMO, I just rhymed without meaning to, haha!) I would've had this up yesterday evening, but we went to go see the fireworks and we got back later than we thought we would, so my brother and I went straight to bed. Also, before anybody says anything about the flashback being vague and extremely unrevealing, just let my say something. I told Bree this when I sent the document to her for proof reading and editing, and I'll tell all of you the exact same thing I told her: It is supposed to be that way. I did it on purpose, it's deliberate. <strong>

**The full story will be revealed through small hints and things in details, thoughts, memories, conversations, etc. throughout the story. IF you pay attention, you will have a clear picture of what happened by the end of the story. Perhaps not nessecarily a DETAILED picture, but clear, nontheless. But IF, and ONLY IF you pay attention! Not all of it will be so obvious. I may decide to drop some of the hints by very, VERY lightly implying things. So pay very, very, _VERY _close attention.**

**See you next time I post, and happy belated Fourth, everybody! Consider this a late Independance Day present from me to all of you.**

**Much love to all my pretties out there, and where ever you live, I hope you enjoyed the fireworks!**

**-Maggie the Mad Majesty of Muchness**

**Disclaimer: Me: (on phone) *rolls eyes* If this doesn't work and we end up getting caught, it's all your fault. Yes, hello, are Stephen Schwartz and Gregory Maguire available? They are? Great, may I please speak to them? Yes, I'll hold. *waits* Hi, my name is Maggie and I'm a huge fan of Wicked. So, anyway, my friends and I were just wondering-  
>Rylee: *snatches phone out of my hand* Are the copyrights for sale yet? We keep getting on eBay and checking, but nothing ever comes up, so we decided to just call and ask when you plan on putting them up for sale.<br>Linda: *steals phone* Ignore everything Rylee says, she's absolutely bonkers and hasn't the faintest idea what comes out of her mouth half the time!  
>Rylee: Hey!<br>Bree: *grabs phone* Don't listen to them, they're ALL outta their craneys, every last freaking one of 'em!  
>Elphaba: GIVE ME THAT! *takes phone away from us* Stephen, Gregory, it's Elphaba. Do not listen to a word any of them says, completely disregard all of that. Each and every one of these girls is crazier than the Mad Hatter.<br>Fiyero: They put makeup on me, you guys! MAKEUP! They made me dress up like the freaking Phantom of the freaking Opera just so they could dump a gallon of paint on some horribly out of tune soprano!  
>Me: Hey, Carlotta deserved that!<br>Linda: Yeah, she got what was coming to her!  
>Fiyero: Quiet, all of you! Mommy and Daddy are talking grown-up stuff!<br>Bree: *puts hands on hips & gapes in shock and major offense*  
>Elphie: Seriously, don't listen to anything they say, and if they ever call either of you again, either don't answer or just hang up. Especially Maggie, she's the craziest and it's like she's their little gang leader or something. *hangs up* You four are in HUGE trouble. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Internal Musings

**AN: AT LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG, AND INFINITY MORE "LONGS" LAST, HERE IT IS, THE SECOND CHAPTER OF COMPLICATIONS, PEOPLE, NOW FREAK OUT AND HAVE SOME SEIZURES WITH ME!**

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><p>Fiyero scowled in disgust at the dark haired young woman staring out of the photo he held. Glancing briefly at the newspaper being sold at the stall in front of him only confirmed what he already knew, not that he needed any confirmation, anyway. "Dammit, Sarima," he muttered under his breath. "For once in your pathetic life, can't you keep your sorry ass out of jail for even a <em>day <em>over six months at a time?" He bit his lower lip thoughtfully, internally debating whether it was even worth it or not to get the paper and find out what she'd been arrested for. Shaking his head, he decided after a moment that not only was it not worth it, but he also didn't even want to know. Either way, though, he'd probably find out sooner or later when his twin sister sent a letter begging for him to come and pay her bail. Not that he would, of course. He almost never did. At least not if he could avoid it.

Besides, Fiyero had a lot of other things on his mind that day. Namely the girl he'd met the day before after "accidentally-on-purpose" spilling some of his drink on her at a café. She'd piqued his curiosity the moment she walked through the door, making him do a double take when he saw her. He'd decided right away that she was beautiful, not once pausing to second guess it, despite the way others had seemed to react to her. She'd been tall with a slender frame and hourglass figure. Her skin had been emerald green, but this wasn't the only thing about her that had caught Fiyero's eye.

Something had just drawn him to her, and he found that he couldn't resist the magnetic pull of whatever it was. She had wild obsidian curls that managed to achieve an elegant look as they fell down her back, despite the fact that they had been tangled from yesterday's strong wind. Even though several people looked disgusted by her, she carried herself with a straight posture, standing tall with her head held high, either blissfully unaware of the looks she was getting, or choosing to ignore them completely. The air about her was one of confidence and she seemed to exude a strict, no-nonsense attitude, which, as far as Fiyero could tell, doubled as a warning of sorts that she was they type of young woman who refused to take any kind of crapshit from anyone and doubtlessly wouldn't even blink before kicking the ass of anybody foolish enough to try and give her any.

It was her eyes that had really enraptured him, though. The same rich brown as freshly overturned earth with silver flecks of mica that glinted subtly in the late afternoon sunlight that had been coming through the windows at the time. The moment those eyes met his for the first time, Fiyero suddenly remembered hearing once that a person's eyes were the window to their soul. Although he had always thought he knew the meaning of those words—at least to a certain extent, anyway—he realized now as he made his way down the sidewalk that he'd never truly understood them until yesterday.

He had looked into that girl's eyes and, yes, he had seen her soul. It had been a beautiful thing. Enough so to rival even that of his younger sister, who he loved more than anyone in the entire world.

Since he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, Fiyero didn't realize another person was coming straight towards him until they collided. The other person dropped a small collection of books in surprise. Feeling like an idiot, Fiyero got on his knees to help pick them up. "Sorry," he said. "That was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." He didn't look up, but he knew the other person was shakng their head when he saw long black hair moving back and forth. "It's fine," a female voice said. "It's my fault, too, I shouldn't have had my nose in a book while I was walking. Old habits die hard, you know?" Fiyero laughed a bit. "Yeah," he said, grabbing a thick leather journal with a _fleur-de-lis _on the front that had been among the books.

As he handed it to her, though, he froze, their hands just inches apart upon seeing hers for the first time. Fiyero looked up and was stunned when he realized it was the same green-skinned beauty from the café. She started collecting a few pens that must have fallen out of her bag, not once glancing up at him. "What is it? she asked. "Is something—" She stopped mid-sentence whens he finally looked up, her eyes growing wide. "Oh," she said lamely, suddenly at a loss for words. Fiyero bit his lower lip. "Um...I-It's Elphaba, right?" She nodded. "Yeah, although most people prefer something more along the lines of 'artichoke' most of the time."

Fiyero glanced down briefly and realized he was still holding the journal. "Oh, uh, h-here," he said, handing it to her. "Thanks," she replied as she took it and placed it on top of her book stack. "Listen, I really am sorry about running into you like that," he said as they stood up. "Sometimes I just start thinking about something and I kind of lose track of what's going on around me." Elphaba shook her head. "No, that was completely my fault, I, um...I'm kind of a bookworm and I've got this bad habit of reading while I'm walking, so I run into people like that pretty frequently. My best friend has been trying to help me break myself of it, but, like I said before, old habits die hard."

Her eyes suddenly lit up a bit as if she'd just realized something. "Um, speaking of my best friend...Yesterday, when I got home, I just kind of briefly mentioned in passing that I'd talked to you, and when she asked your name, I told her, and she kind of just...I don't really know, she just...froze up for a minute, then started acting almost like she was panicking or hiding something. She said she'd met you once or twice before and maybe even thrown a few things at your head, but she refused to say anything else, so I was just sort of wondering if you might be able to shed a bit of light on that for me...?"

"What's her name?"  
>"Glinda Arduenna."<p>

Fiyero thought for a moment. "...It _sounds _familiar, but I'm not getting any specific memories..."  
>"She's petite, about four-foot-eleven, so she wears a lot of heels. Blonde curly hair, wardrobe is an explosion of pink, ten million shoes, a billion accessories, about twice that many outfits. Oh, and her voice is kind of high-pitched and nasally. She's a bouncing ball of energy, always really hyper—"<br>"With a C-note squeal loud enough to cause a cave-in at the Glikkus Emerald Mines?"

Elphaba smiled. "That would be Glinda," she said. Fiyero nodded. "Yeah, now I remember. We dated about six years ago, then she got mad at me and tried to decapitate me with a hand mirror while screeching about how she hoped I fell into Kellswater and died and she never ever ever wanted to see my face again for the rest of her entire life."

Elphaba's eyebrows shot up. "She threw a mirror at your head?" she asked in disbelief. Fiyero nodded. "If memory serves, I believe it happened on a Saturday, to be specific," he said. "Thankfully, though, she missed, and it shattered against the wall without causing either of us any harm. Either that, or I ducked at the last second. I'm not quite sure which it was, it all happened so fast that all I really remember is a blur of color, then broken glass flying everywhere. But enough about what Glinda did and didn't try to debrain me with in the past, I'd rather hear about you. Uh, I mean..."

_Damn, Fiyero, _he thought, _just get straight to the point and scare her right off, why don'tchya there, buddy?_

Elphaba laughed, and the sound was musical, just as beautiful as her smile. "I was on my way to the Rosewood for lunch," she said, "why don't you come with me and we'll talk more there?"  
>"You like that place, too? How come I've never seen you there before?"<p>

She shrugged. "Different schedules, maybe, I dunno. Well, actually, I usually only go there with Glinda, and then again usually only once a month since it can be kind of expensive, you know?" Fiyero nodded. "Yeah. I actually only go with my parents for the most part, or my sister. My younger sister, that is, not my twin. She's a bitch and a whore, I try to avoid her at all cots. Sarima the Slut."  
>"I wouldn't know about that sort of thing, my only sister is younger and was born crippled. Nessarose is...Well, let's just say Daddy's Perfect Angel and leave it at that, shall we?"<br>"Do I detect a trace of resentment in that sentence, Miss Elphaba?"

Elphaba let out a noise that was half-sigh, half-laugh. "I don't hate my sister, if that's what you're getting at," she said. "I could never hate Nessa or bear her any ill will. It's not her fault that Momma died. I mean, yes, she died giving birth to Nessa, but that was partly because of the milkflowers Father made her chew, and the rest is my fault, because he never would've had those damn flowers brought in for her if I hadn't been born...well..." She made a vague motion down her body.

Fiyero shook his head. "What? Green?" he asked. She nodded, not meeting his eyes as she brushed some hair behind her ear. He hadn't noticed before how slender her fingers were, or how elegant. He couldn't help but think to himself that they looked a little like a pianist's fingers, and he found himself imagining how beautiful they would look flying across a keyboard, which then led him to wonder if maybe she _did _play, if not piano, then maybe something else, like flute, or violin, perhaps.

"Well...but...that's not your fault," he said, opening the door for her as they stepped into the Rosewood. "I mean, it's not like you _chose _to be born green, it's not like you were just like, 'Oh, hey, I haven't even been born yet, but I already hate my parents, let me just turn myself green so I can piss them off.' That's not what happened, you wanna know what baby said that? None. Ever. Including you."  
>"Tell that to my father," Elphaba said with a laugh. "Although, I do admit that that...phrase, I guess is the right word...that phrase that Glinda's drilled into my head, I guess <em>has <em>kind of started to have a bit of an effect on my psyche, but then again, anything would if it was repeated to someone as many times as this has been repeated to me."

"What is it?"  
>"'Oh, well, that wasn't your fault, that was the milkflowers' fault,'" Elphaba said in her best imitation of Glinda's voice. Fiyero laughed. "Hey, that was pretty good!" he said. "Wait, so tell me if I understood this correctly; the milkflowers made you green?"<p>

"No, they caused Nessa to come early and with her legs all tangled up. Father had Momma chew them during her pregnancy with Nessa to...keep the baby from ending up...you know...like me. But the thing about that is, there's no guarantee that they work, so there is no way to tell with absolute certainty that they were the reason she didn't end up green, it could've just been as natural as it was for my brother. Like I said, there's no way to tell for sure. Father, however, seems to like to think it was the milkflowers. Probably because they were _his _idea, and so therefore it was _him _who saved his precious little princess from ending up an ugly frog like her sister, who, by the way, couldn't _possibly _be his child, but at the same time must be, because his beloved wife would _never _cheat on him, she loved him too much, and besides, it would've looked bad, very, very bad for the family's reputation if she ever _did _cheat, which, of course, she didn't. So, of course, that can only mean one thing, which is that the frog daughter is some kind of punishment from the Unnamed God for some sin or another. _His _sin, of course. Nessa's condition is punishment for one of Momma's sins, that's why she's Daddy's Little Angel Princess, it's why he coddles her and is making _her _his heir instead of me, even though tradition requires that the elder sibling inherit the position. Even if my brother were around, I doubt he'd get it, either, even though he's older than both of us."

"Okay, wait a minute," Fiyero said. "Hold up, just rewind for a minute here. What position are we talking about?" Elphaba sighed, leaning back in the booth they were seated at, her eyes suddenly looking very tired. "My father is the governor of Munchkinland," she said. "Frexspar Thropp. And my great-grandfather is the Eminent Thropp, which makes me the Thropp Third Descending, not that I want the title, and nor do I want any of what it entails, succeeding my great-grandfather and all. Believe me, the last thing I want in life is to be in such a powerful position. It would be much too lonely for my taste, and I wouldn't get to do the things I love as much as I'd like to be able to. I wish there was some way I could get out of it, but...sadly, no such luck."

"Yeah, I get where you're coming from on that," he said as he stretched a bit and cracked his knuckles. She leaned forward, resting her head on her hand. "How so?" she asked. He shrugged out of his peacoat, putting it down on the booth next to himself. "I am," he said, "a prince by birth. The crown prince of the Arjiki tribe, to be specific. But, like you said, I wasn't sure I could handle the responsibility, and plus, I wanted to get out, see new places, meet new people, live my life the way _I _wanna live it, not the way a some dumb group of stuffy old bastards tell me I should live it. I wanna marry someone that _I _pick, and I wanna do it in my own time, and when it does happen, I wanna do it for love, not because the tribe needs a queen and I need an heir.

"I wanna do things _my _own way, on _my_ own time, and for _my _own reasons, you know? So here's what I did; when I turned eighteen, I went to my parents, told them basically the same thing I just told you, and said, 'If it's alright with you guys, I would like to revoke my crown and pass the torch on down to Niobe,' Niobe being my younger sister. They talked about it with each other, then with me some more, and then they basically were like, 'Well, your reasoning behind this seems totally legit, we see no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to, so yeah, sure, crown officially revoked, your sister's the torch holder. Keep in touch, let us know if you need anything, promise you'll visit, now get out.' And I did. And I've been on my own ever since."

"Do you ever regret it?"  
>"No, never. I mean, yeah, I wish I could see my sister more frequently than I'm able to, not to mention my nephews and their sister, but I'm always out there for Lurlinemas, and I send a letter about once a month. But other than that, it's probably the best decision I've ever made, to tell the truth. I got myself an apartment here in the City, and this is where I've been living since. What about you?"<p>

"Well, Glinda and I were roomates in college at Shiz University, that's how we met. We hated each other's guts at first, I mean, we're like exact polar opposites in every way imaginable. But, I guess after living with a person for so long, they kind of start to grow on you. We were just talking one night during a storm and we suddenly, inexplicably just...clicked. We've been all but joined at the hip ever since. I guess it's true what they say, about opposites attracting. After graduation, we pooled our money together and found out we had enough to get a dingy apartment here in the EC, which had always been both of our Dream Cities. Her parents gave her some more money as a graduation gift, and added to what we already had, it was enough to get a better place than what we'd originally thought we'd end up in. We split the rent fifty-fifty, I work part-time at a bookstore, she goes on her shopping sprees and what-have-you, and overall, we've got a pretty damn good life. I mean, aside from—Oh, shit! It's almost—!"

She stood and began gathering her things in a hurry. "I'm sorry, Fiyero," she said, "I'd really love to stay and talk some more, but Glinda will flip a table if I'm not home soon! I already got in enough trouble from the coffee stain on my sweater yesterday, if I'm not back when I said I'd be, she'll _really _blow a gasket on me, and as I'm sure you're aware after dating her, hell hath no fury like a pissed and impatient Glinda, so I've really gotta be on my way!"  
>"Yeah, no, I get it, it's fine. Go and don't get strangled. Maybe we'll see each other around some time?"<br>"I'd really like that, so I'll keep my fingers crossed."

And then she was gone.

_"I'd really like that."_

It was _never _that easy.

...Was it?

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><p><strong>AN: I dunno, Fiyero, you tell me; is it? XD<br>**

**Anyway, I don't own Wicked, blah blah blah, you know the drill, HEY I GOT BRACES, LOL! **

**Oh, and I'm going to see Wicked in about four-and-a-half weeks, so YAY! This'll be the third time I've seen it, and CLIFTON HALL AND DEE ROSCIOLI ARE PLAYING ELPHABA AND FIYERO THIS TIME, HOW EPIC IS THAT?! I'M SO PSYCHED, I CAN'T EFFING WAIT! *dies of impatience***


	3. Chapter 3: Books, Plans, and Dust

**AN: GUYS, I AM SO FREAKING PSYCHED! A week from tomorrow, I'm gonna get to see Wicked for the third time, and guess who's playing Fiyeraba? DEE FREAKING ROSCIOLI AND CLIFTON FRICKNG-FRACKING HALL, THAT'S WHO! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THEM BEING IN THE COMPANY THAT COMES TO /MY/ AREA?! OH MY FREAKING OZ, I CAN'T EFFING WAIT, I'M FREAKING OUT HERE! And it's gonna be my dad's first time seeing it, and I can't wait to see Clifton do "Let the green girl go," or Dee's "We can't all come and go by BUBBLE," and I am FREAKING OUT OVER THE VERY THOUGHT OF GETTING TO SEE THEM DO ALYAM! I've been listening to the soundtrack for the past WEEK to get ready, not that I need to refresh my memory or anything, I mean, I know every word to every song backwards and forwards and in my sleep right off the top of my head!**

**BUT OH MY GOD, IT'S NOT GETTING HERE FAST ENOUGH, YOU GUYS!**

**Oh, and also, Wicked, unfortunately, doesn't belong to me. If it did, I wouldn't be sitting in history looking at pictures of trench-foot or pretending to write back home like I'm a soldier IN the trenches, and I wouldn't have taken home a fake baby last weekend for my child development class. I'd be backstage at the performances being done at the Gershwin 24/7 and glomping the actors left and right and hanging out with Adam Lambert instead of just having dreams about it.**

**And yes, I know this chapter's kinda short, but I wanted to share the news, and I was a little stuck, so just bear with me and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can, alright?**

**OH, and one more thing before I forget! Yes, I know that there's no Shakespeare in Oz, but just pretend, okay? Which reminds me, I also don't own any of the plays mentioned in this chapter, they all belong to the Bard. n_n"**

**Much love, my pretties!**

**—Maggie**

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><p>About a week or two later, Fiyero walked into a second-hand bookshop hoping to find something he could send to his mom for her birthday. She loved old books, so hopefully there would be something in here that she'd like. What he didn't expect to see when he went in was a girl with ebony hair and emerald green skin sitting behind the counter.<p>

"Elphaba?" he said in disbelief. She looked up and smiled when she saw him, marking her place in the book she was holding. "Fiyero, hi!" she said. "What are you doing here?"  
>"Looking for a birthday present for my mom," he said. "She likes musty old books and stuff, I don't know why. What about you?"<br>"Plotting to overthrow the Wizard," she replied sarcastically. He snorted with laughter. "Working, what does it look like, dummy?"

He decided right then that she had a beautiful smile. She brushed some hair out of her eyes. "I work here part-time," she explained. "I told you I worked, remember?" Fiyero nodded as the memory came to him. "Right, right," he said. "I just didn't realize you worked _here,_ that's all. When you said you worked at a bookstore, I guess I just kind of assumed it was someplace a little more, I dunno..."  
>"Not dusty and dingy?" she suggested. Fiyero laughed and shrugged. "Yeah, sure," he said. "I guess that works."<p>

Elphaba slid off the stool she was sitting on. "Well," she said, "if your mom's into musty old books, you definitely came to the right place. This is basically where books come to grow mildew and mold. I'll help you find something if you want. Exactly what kind of 'old' are we talking about here?"  
>"Traditional romantic tragedies, mystery...Anything, really, as far as genre, she just likes the literary masters."<p>

The green girl nodded. "I can relate to that," she said. "And as it just so happens, we just got a bunch of Shakespeare in. _Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice..._Any of that sound good? Or does she have those already?" Fiyero thought for a few moments. "What about _Hamlet?" _he asked. "I mean, she had a copy of it, but it accidentally got knocked into a fireplace at some point in time and she had to get rid of it, and she's been wanting another copy, so if you've got that, it'd be really great, I'd owe you one." Elphaba smiled and motioned for him to follow her. "Just so happens we do have a copy," she said as she led him through the maze of shelves. She stopped at a bookcase against the back wall of the store and ran her finger along the spines of some books. "It should be riiiight...Ah! Here it is."

She turned and handed it to him. "Thanks so much," he said. Elphaba waved it off. "It's nothing, really. What I'm here for. And you know what, just because I know you and you're one of the rare people who doesn't seem to care about my skin and because it's a present for your mom, I'll let you have it discounted, alright?" she said. Fiyero's face lit up in surprise. "Really? Wow, I—You don't have to do that for me, really. I mean, I appreciate the offer, but you really don't have to do that." Elphaba put a hand over his as the got back to the counter. "I want to," she said. When he didn't respond, she pulled her hand away, feeling a bit hastily. "Anyway..."

Neither one of them had missed the spark of electricity when their hands had made contact. It had run through both of their veins, making the small, fine hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. As she worked on punching numbers into the register, Fiyero swallowed a bit nervously. "Um...Elphaba?" he said. She glanced up at him. "Yes?" she asked. Fiyero rubbed the back of his neck, which was a habit he had when his nerves were worked up. "Well," he said, "I was just wondering if maybe, um...maybe...you might possibly be interested in, um...well...getting some coffee or something together some time?"

Elphaba looked up, her rich brown eyes wide and her hand partway outstretched to give him the copy of _Hamlet. _She blinked a few times to snap herself out of it. "Um...y-yeah...sure, uh...Yeah, I'd love to, that'd be great," she said. "Um...when did you have in mind, exactly?" Fiyero considered this for a moment, then shrugged. "Can you do tomorrow, maybe, I dunno, about...ten-ish in the afternoon?" he asked. Elphaba handed him the book, then grabbed her bag and pulled out a small book, which turned out to be a calender. She nodded. "Yeah, I can do that," she said. "The Rosewood?" Fiyero rolled his eyes. "Um, duh," he said matter-of-factly. "Where else? They've got the best damn coffee in the entire city, no shit we're going to the Rosewood."  
>"I'm not religious, but I'll give an amen to that!" Elphaba declared.<p>

They both laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," Fiyero said, and Elphaba nodded. "I'll look forward to it," she said. Fiyero grinned. "Me too. I'll see you later."  
>"Alright. Bye, Fiyero."<br>"Bye."

After he'd gotten a little ways down the street, Fiyero stopped, looked over his shoulder, and couldn't stop a big grin from breaking out on his face as he let out a whoop of triumph.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yaaay for that slightly awkward first coffee date andor the planning thereof! lol. OMIGOSH, okay, I've got a crazy story to tell you guys about something that happened on the Facebook roleplay recently!**

**Okay, so one of my pages was helping a friend out with something, and there was a crazy guy involved, right? Threatening Jojo's friend, okay? And there's a couple Wicked pages that are doing a crossover thing with Wicked and Catch Me if You Can, and my Fiyero is real good buddies/partners with the Fiyero who's doing the Hanratty role, Fiyero Carl Tiggular, who goes by Carl, and so MY Fiyero goes and gets involved in the craziness with the guy threatening Jojo's friend, right? And Jojo is dating one of Carl's sons, Rob, who is in the process of learning how to shoot a gun, sort of an FBI agent-in-training, and so he comes to help, too, right?**

**And so, anyway, Fiyero and Rob show up to help, and then Fiyero pulls out his switchblade, and the crazy guy, Cal? Without ANY WARNING, his admin has him SHOOT FIYERO IN THE HEAD. And so Fiyero was dead, which I had never planned on happening! And I was PISSED, because that is MY page, I should decide what happens to him, and I got NO warning, it just HAPPENED, which really made me angry. And so me, Deia (Cal's admin), Rob's admin, and Rose's (Jojo's friend) admin all had to get together and make plans to go back and re-do the whole thing to where Fiyero got to live, and it was CRAZY.**

**Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you 'cause it was interesting, to say the least.**

**So, anyway, yeah, I'm gonna go work on the next chapter now while my family and I watch the Blues Brothers and I continue to internally flip out over getting to see Dee and Clifton in a week and a day.**

**—Maggie**


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